Arived in Lima and after all the scare stories we had been told about carjacks we opted to take the safest option to the hotel and go with the gap taxis already booked by other more organised travellers. The hotel was a lot nicer than we are used to so we took full advantage and went straight to bed. Woke up hungry about fourish and headed down to the sea and what happened to be the main tourist area and had a chinese for lunch. It could of been worse we could have opted for pizza hut, macdonalds or burger king. We bumped into some girls on our trip who had sold out and opted for pizza hut though. That night we went out for authentic Peruvian food which actually turned out to be plain old chicken and chips. I stuck with a fanta. There is 15 in our group and everyone seems okay so far but plenty of time for true colours to shine through.

In the morning had breakfast and headed to the centre of Lima with Verity and Deluchie. Verity was supposedly our guide as she had ventured out previously. Her directions were not much better than mine though! We watched the change of the guard which involved a lot of a strange unnesscary marching and was protected by a water cannon and a tank plus a guard who seemed to be itching to use his gun. When we became tired of this we headed for the Monasterio de San Francisco and the Catacombs under the monstary. It had a very impressive library with a huge collection of very old books and the underground Catacombs are the place where 70 thousand burials happened. All the bones are a little spooky especially the way they are all lined up. We then all got a bus to Pisco which started with a video showing us how are bags are stolen from your seats which was very reassuring. We arrived in Pisco late which is a little spooky as this was the site of a major earthquake only a year ago. Our driver and the trusty lonely planet warns you about hitting the streets at night. Due to this we ate in the hotel that night and had another early night. In the morning Aaron went to Islas Ballestas. Enroute to the island he got his first glimpse of what we were going to see in Nazca. A giant figure etched into the sand in the hill (The Candelabra). The islands were jam packed with birds and seal lions. One even managed to poo right on Aarons camera and shorts. It is supposed to be good luck so hopefully that means ares is changing. The star of the show was the humboldt penguins. As you have noticed you can never see enough penguins. I stayed to have a look at Pisco the devastation is very plain to see people living in empty shells of houses a church with only one tower left and waste ground opposite our hotel that used to be a six story posh hotel itself. Very sad sight to see. We then stopped at Ica for some pisco tasting. Aaron got more than he bargained for as the smell was enough to put me off. Our lunch stop was Huacachina an oasis in the middle of the desert. It was exactly how you would imagine an oasis to be. We arrived again at night at Nazca. Our hotel was down a very dodgy looking non road but the hotel keeping up with gaps stanards was good. Another early night and early morning.

Next day was a highlight for us both. We started off by visiting the cemetry and the mummies. In the past people were burried in feotal position facing the sun so that it helps them to be reborn straight away. They were burried with their possessions but many have since been taken by grave robbers. Some were very disturbing especially the babies. Strange to see all the hair and fingernails attached. Then to the plane to fly over the Nazca lines. The plane was more bumpy than we expected but we were okay unlike others who came off feeling very sick. We were easily distacted by the amazing lines and drawings. They all are massive and can only be appreciated from the air. The monkey and the condor were very impressive. There are many theories about them as we learnt when we visited the planetarium in the evening. The lines may lead to water, mountains, sunsets or the brightest stars. You make your own decision. That night Lizzy, Courtney and us went out for some food and desert. A little bit wary about walking about in the dark especially when the guide kept telling us to stay together. Then a night bus to Arequipa.